I was most heartily welcomed by them; and when I told my story of what had happened since they left me, Captain Graham said he congratulated me as much as it was possible for a loyal Englishman to congratulate his country's enemy. "Everybody has been very kind to us," he said, "from the officers and crew that had us in charge, to the owners of the Marguerite, to whom we gave your letter on our arrival. I am under parole, and hope to be exchanged before long; but I find New York so agreeable that I shall be sorry to leave it when the time comes to go away." "I like it very much too," said Mrs. Graham, as her husband paused. "We go out walking every pleasant day, and find the Battery a delightful place to loiter in. I never get tired of looking at the ships and boats in the bay, and I don't wonder that the people who live here are so fond of their city." I accepted an invitation to remain, or rather to return for tea; and it is needless to say that I had a very pleasant evening. By tacit consent all allusion to the war was omitted, and we chatted upon various topics, in which our recollections of the Washington had a prominent place. It was rather late in the evening when I returned to the Marguerite and went to bed. While I was at breakfast the next morning a messenger came with the request that I would go to the office of the owners as soon as possible. "We have a proposal to make to you for a new command," said the senior member of the firm of owners, as soon as I entered the office. I signified my readiness to listen to any offer they had to make, as I felt sure it would be a good one. "We were thinking of converting the Camperdown into a privateer," said he, "by reducing her free-board so that she will sit low in the water. She can easily carry twelve or fourteen guns, and a proportionately larger crew than the Marguerite. We think that she will be a good sailer with the alterations we propose; but there is the possible chance that she will be injured rather than improved. What do you think of the plan? We shall give the command of the new privateer to you in case the change is made." "At first thought it does not strike me favorably," I answered, "in spite of the temptation it offers in giving me command of a larger vessel than the Marguerite. The schooner is very fast and easily handled; she is faster than the Camperdown, and can be brought about more readily, which is often a very important thing at sea, especially in time of war. For capturing merchant-ships, which is the object of privateering, seven guns are as good as fourteen; now and then an armed merchantman might surrender to the larger vessel when she would not to the smaller one, but such cases are not numerous.